FIC: Reckoning (Human Series)
Title: Reckoning
Author: Keelywolfe
Fandom: Transformers: Bayverse
Rating: R
Series: Human series
Summary: Chapter 47 of the Human Series.
~~*~~
The first time Epps found out that the Autobots were building their own base was when he was called into a classified meeting with some of the most powerful men in the States. Just him, no enormous briefing, no pressure of his direct commanding officers or subordinates. Only him and the big guys, asking him if he was willing to take on the assignment of protecting not his country but his very planet from a hostile alien invasion. And that in doing so, he'd be working alongside a group of alien friendlies.
That's what they had asked him, like it was just a simple yes or no question. To Epps, it had been. He'd never even hesitated. Never backed out of a dangerous mission before and he wasn't about to now.
Didn't regret it one fucking bit, not even now as he sat in a jeep, speeding towards the two Autobots standing near the base's entrance. Every soldier still on base was right behind him, all of them on the move the second radio contact went down and if anyone knew what the fuck was going on, it'd be two mechs ahead of them.
Time training with the 'bots had taught Epps a few things and it wasn't hard to recognize a mech with his battle protocols running. Even a civilian would know to be wary when they saw a twenty-foot robot carrying around a couple of ten-foot glowing swords, never mind two of them.
If those two were running off battle protocols, though, Epps knew a couple extra details. One, their perceptions would be on a razor-thin trigger, everything shut down but combat code. Just a little, he could envy a species that could literally turn off their fear, but never mind that now. The other detail he knew was the one concerning him now. If they were prepped to go, then something was coming and it was moving fast.
The driver braked a cautious distance back. Epps barely waited for him to stop before he hopped out, shouting up to the yellow and red mechs towering over him. "We lost contact with the guard station. They're coming, aren't they."
The way the yellow one startled, he hadn't even noticed the humans coming towards him and it made a shiver of apprehension dance up Epps spine. What could they be focused on so intently that the humans didn't even register as a threat?
Big yellow gave him a look that pretty clearly wondered what the fuck was going on. He looked at Sideswipe and Epps knew pissed off when he heard it. "You didn't tell me there were still humans here!"
Sideswipe only grinned back, "I didn't think about it. I'm not used to organics fighting with us." He saluted Epps jauntily with one sword. "Good to see you, Epps. Lennox left you in charge? I thought you were in communications."
"Still am. So communicate with me, what we looking at here?" Lennox and his team were probably fighting their own battles right now, Epps knew, and there was fuck all he could do about that. His orders were to defend their base and its occupants and the soldiers behind him were prepping to do just that. Be easier to do if they had any idea of what they were facing with communications and radar down, and the only mechs around who would know right now were these two.
Sideswipe he knew, was a stand-up guy. Didn't mind getting his hands dirty and a couple times, he'd stopped by the rec center in his Holo and played a few rounds of Call of Duty on the setup the mechs had made for everyone.
He knew the yellow guy was something to him, like a brother. Twins in their own way. Ratchet had tried to explain it to him once but Epps had figured out a long time ago that the best way to handle Ratchet was nodding every once in a while and eventually he'd get tired of talking and kick you out.
Yellow guy, it was Sunsomething, Sunny, and Epps mentally dubbed him SunnyD.
To say that the look SunnyD gave them was dismissive would be an insult to the word, "You humans should get out of here while you have a chance."
Yeah, that was probably why he didn't know SunnyD that well. "Our orders are to stay and defend."
"Defend what?" SunnyD sneered, gesturing at the buildings around them. "This slagheap would probably be improved by destroying it." A thunderous sound rolled over them, mechs and humans alike falling silent as they looked towards it. There was nothing visible through the darkness, not to the humans anyway. It didn't stop Epps from knowing it was coming; he could feel it, the anticipation hanging in the air like the heaviness of coming rain.
"Not long now," Sideswipe murmured, his focus on the darkened horizon. He didn't even seem to notice the byplay between the solders and his companion. Battle protocols, Epps reminded himself. Razor-sharp focus.
"You and your men need to get out, now," SunnyD said. His pissed off seemed to have been replaced with urgency, battle mask snapping down into place.
Epps shook his head. "Sorry, man, I don't take orders from you."
That didn't seem to be the reply that SunnyD was looking for. "Get out of here, or I'll kill you myself."
Behind him, Epps felt his team move restlessly. Every one of them had a heavily modified M4A1 Carbine and a healthy selection of incendiary projectiles deemed safe enough for humans to use. Ironhide had assisted them in redesigning their weapons against Ratchet's vehement protests and Epps had been one of the few humans privy to that particular argument.
Didn't matter, they were all armed now with the very best weapons they could produce for killing the shit out of mechs, just like the one who was currently glowering at them and Epps hastily raised a hand, holding his team back. Didn't need any damned fighting with the good guys, even if this guy was a dick.
Epps propped his own rifle on his hip and looked up into glowing blue optics. "If we're all gonna die anyway, I'd rather do it fighting some fucking 'Cons."
SunnyD glared at him and then suddenly, he laughed, a wild, electric sound that made a cold shiver trail down Epps's spine. Fuck, this guy was as scary as most Decepticons. "Die here, then. And stay out of my way."
Adrenaline was already thumping through Epps as he turned back to his team. Good men, strong, impassive faces staring back at him as they waited for orders. "Hear that?" he shouted, "We're all gonna die today! We ready for it?"
"Yes, sir!" A shouted chorus of mingled voices and weapons being locked and loaded.
"Then let's do it right!" He turned back to SunnyD, "You tell us what to do and we're on it."
To his credit, the 'Bot didn't hesitant. "It's a combiner team. A group of five or more mechs connected to form a larger one."
"Don't that sound like fun," drawled Martinez, currently second-in-command. He had one of the 'bot's modified scanners that Ratchet had given them. The medic might have refused to help with weapons but he seemed all right about making tools. Doc walked a fine line, Epps figured, but it wasn't his problem to deal with. Didn't look like the scanner was helping very much anyway; whatever they'd used to take down communications and radar seemed to work on the Autobot's equipment, too.
"There's only one way to fight a combiner team. From a distance," Sunstreaker, curtly, his optics still on the horizon. Nothing was visible to the humans but his optics flickered, watching. Scanning, probably. "If you're close enough to hit them, you're already dead so you might as well do what you can. Target the joints and force them to separate, it's the only way to take them down."
Epps laughed and was pleased it didn't sound a bit hysterical, "All right, let's take down fucking Voltron!"
A brief, sharp chorus of. "Yes, sir!" behind him and rifles being hefted, all of them taking what cover they could as they waited. They were as ready as they could be, a small group of humans and two mechs.
SunnyD was literally vibrating, waiting, his twin swaying next to him. His optics never left the horizon and now Epps could really feel it. The rhythmic, thudding vibration of something fucking enormous taking steps, coming closer, like a fucking outtake of Jurassic Park. Seemed like it was taking fucking forever.
The 'bots seemed to think so, too, both of them were moving as restlessly as any of the humans. Autobot expressions were sometimes disturbingly human and Epps recognized that look. He'd done three tours in the Middle East with his team, yeah, he'd seen that look plenty. Couple of times in his own mirror. SunnyD was eager to get this on, and he was probably running a few sparkplugs short right now.
And why the fuck wouldn't he be. Three tours didn't seem like shit when you stacked it against what the 'Bots had been going through for a few thousand years.
This was his team now and when your team was charged with saving the world, you didn't ask any fucking question. You stepped up and you took care of business.
~~*~~
Until this moment, Sam had never realized how much the Autobots modified themselves so they would be able to disguise themselves as human vehicles. Bumblebee had kick-ass specs, no questioning that, but to anyone giving him a cursory look, he was just a Camaro. One with a few specialized upgrades, but still. Just a car.
Riding in him now, crammed in the backseat with Mikaela as his parents took the dubious comfort of the front seats, there was no denying that Bumblebee wasn't 'just' anything.
They were all strapped in tight with seatbelts of the like Sam had never even imagined. Understandable, though. He had no idea how fast they were going but it was damned fast, he could feel it. Outside the windows, away from the city, it was pitch-black, and there was another bit of strangeness. They'd left the roads a while back and a Camaro wasn't exactly designed for off-roading. It didn't feel like they were riding on anything less than the smoothest blacktop though, and the low hum of Bumblebee's engine was barely audible. All the interior lights were off, the tiniest of indicators gone and the darkness was oppressive, pushing in on them.
Mikaela shifted a little, leaning against him and Sam automatically wrapped an arm around her. None of the humans said a word; even his mom was quiet although Bumblebee hadn't asked for silence. It felt like they were all holding their breath, waiting to see if they'd gotten away clean.
It was Bumblebee who finally broke the silence, his voice low through the radio speakers. Sam's mom muffled a short cry of surprise as Bumblebee said, quietly. "Listen to me carefully, all of you."
Sam nodded, knowing from long experience that Bee could see him. He heard his parents shifting, wondered what they were doing. If his mom was clutching Dad about how like Mikaela was clutching him.
Bumblebee continued, softly, "When I stop, I want all of you to get out. Go left, do you understand? There's an outcropping of rock there, it'll give you some protection. To your left, towards the driver's side. Do you understand?"
Silence, and Bee repeated it, patiently, "Tell me if you understand."
A soft murmur of agreement from around the interior.
"Good. Get ready now."
They slowed so abruptly that Sam's stomach lurched. He bit back the nausea, moving the second the seatbelts whipped back and the doors flung open. The four of them scrambled free and he heard Bee transform, felt the whisk of air as he moved and they'd barely stumbled to the rocky overhand when he heard the scream of metal against metal.
"Oh god," Mikaela whimpered and Sam would have been happy to cry with her, fumbling to touch them all, confirming with his hands what he couldn't see. They'd all made it clear, they were all here.
"Are you both all right?" Dad shouted over the almost unbearably loud sound of mechanized battle. He shoved them harder against the rock, Mikaela and Sam and his mom all crammed tight together. Covering them all with his own body, Sam realized, tears pricking his eyes.
A sudden wash of painful heat over them made answering impossible. One of them had used a plasma cannon, no telling who. There was no way to even know who, or what, Bumblebee was fighting. The darkness was as much their enemy as the damned Decepticons right now and Sam made a distant, fervent wish that he had a set of those night vision goggles the army guys used. When they got out of this, he was getting a set and to hell with any regulation. When they got out of this and they were going to. They were.
Abruptly, the night fell silent again, only an unfamiliar gurgling sound that was slowly ebbing. Sam pushed hard on his dad's shoulder, trying to move him enough to see and after a moment, he did, let Sam look out and see a sparking, mangled wreck barely twenty feet away. Whatever it was, its coloring was dark, not yellow, and relief made Sam sag a little, his knees weakening.
Heavy footsteps and Sam struggled free of their human knot, barely hearing his mom's hissed protest as he scrambled forward. He knew who it was, he could feel it…
"Are you all right?" Bumblebee asked, softly, smooth metal stroked Sam's cheek. A large finger, he realized, leaning into the gentle touch.
"I think so. I think we're all okay," Sam glanced back, stupidly realizing he couldn’t see anyone. He hadn't felt anything wet or bleeding when they'd been crammed together though.
A human hand touched his shoulder, Mikaela, and she murmured, "Bee, you're hurt."
He was, Sam realized, drawing in a sharp breath. The sparking was barely visible but squinting he could see one of Bee's arm's was damaged. Nowhere near the damage he had sustained at Mission City but Sam's heart still twisted to see it.
"I know. I can't transform but we certainly can't stay here. We'll have to see what we can do about it later. All of you, come on." Bumblebee held out his good hand and Sam didn't even hesitate, scrambled into his palm, Mikaela right behind him. His parents took a little longer, crawling awkwardly up and if a Camaro was a tight fit for four humans, the hand of a twenty-foot robot wasn't much of an improvement.
Once they were all situated, large metal fingers curving carefully around them in a sort of protective cage, Bee started moving again in a loping run. It was a much louder way to travel but Sam didn't think they had much room to complain.
His dad was jostling against him uncomfortably, shifting in to say to Sam, loudly, "Don't worry, Bee will be all right. He's a tough kid."
Sam only nodded, leaning against his dad. All in all, he thought his parents were handling their first near-death experience pretty well. He could only hope it would stay near-death, for all of them.
~~*~~
Sweat was stinging in Epps's eyes and he swiped it away impatiently, trying to see through the smoke and darkness enough to find something to fucking shoot.
Most of the lights had shattered under the first energy blast, throwing them all back before they'd even seen it and even now, sweating and screaming orders, Epps hadn't gotten a clear view of it.
He didn't think he wanted one. If they survived this, just what he had seen would probably haunt his fucking nightmares. Epps knew the mechs came big. He'd seen Megatron, before he'd become a twisted, hulking wreck. But this thing…even through the smoke and dust, through the special night vision goggles Ratchet had helped them design - what little he'd seen was like something that had crawled out of the deepest pits of Hell.
Weapon fire and screams were all drowned out in its deafening roar and a rain of debris and glass fell over them. Another building destroyed and Epps just counted them lucky the big stuff had fallen the other way.
It was like his worst, twisted nightmare of that first attack in Qatar and they were probably as effective now as they'd been then. Pumping endless rounds into a monstrosity that they could barely see. Uselessly. SunnyD was right, they were all going to die
His goggles didn't allow for color, a blur flashing in front of him, and Epps recognized the outline of one of the twins sweeping past him, his energy sword a blinding flare of light. Epps flinched away, eyes watering, and looked back just in time to see the Autobot twin going in suicidally close, his weapons glowing hot.
His twin moved in unison with him, unspoken, almost more of a dance than battle tactics. It took Epps a moment to see it but once he did, he understood. Go for the joints and one of the 'bots was giving his brother some much needed leverage to launch himself into the air, his sword pathetically small against that horror but it still cut through the knee joint like going through hot butter.
That thing howled, a horrifying scream of agony as one leg collapsing beneath it but it had three others, it was still moving, fuck, fuck.
"Target the other leg," Epps screamed, his voice raw from shouting and smoke. It was their only chance, SunnyD had said, target the joints. "Get it down, get it down!"
Whether his men had heard him or they just got the idea when Epps did, he didn't know, but every human still standing poured on the heat. Their ammo had been modified alongside their weapons, and the monstrosity shrieked its horrific scream again, the most horrible sound Epps had ever heard was still music to his ears. They were actually taking it down, Epps thought, giddly with adrenaline and battle lust. They were doing it.
A voice cried out, he didn't know who, "Look out!" Too late, Epps's vision whited out and then the ground was hard against his back. Pain was distant, the world going gray around him and Epps could only grope feebly for his weapon as he waited to die.
~~*~~
The pain was a hell of a lot more immediate the next time he woke up. He was moving, Epps realized dimly, moving fast, and the sudden stop made him grunt in pain, turning to a howl when he was deposited roughly on the ground.
"Here, get in here," a rough voice, SunnyD, Epps thought vaguely.
"Where-" he tried, coughed, and tasted blood.
"Witwicky's quarters," he said shortly. "I don’t have access to the inner sanctum but you can get in the front hallway. It's safer there."
"Safer," Epps mumbled. No place was gonna be safe.
"You're leaking fluids," Sunstreaker's vocalizer sounded raspy and Epps wondered if the smoke hurt them, too.
"I noticed," Epps slurred out. Not much he could do about it. His leg was alarmingly numb, the lack of pain disturbing. Epps cried out as he was jostled and only realized SunnyD had nimbly plucked off his belt when he felt it tighten around his thigh in a makeshift tourniquet. Movement again, and Epps was sitting in on the landing of a short flight of stairs, SunnyD leaning what little he could in through the door.
"Stay here," SunnyD repeated. "this building is the most reinforced in the City."
"You're hurt," Epps said blearily, only just seeing the damage on the larger mech.
"I noticed." Fluid dripped from his mangled arm, oily dark with a glowing tinge of pink mixed in, pattering down on the ground. A few droplets stained the front of Epps's t-shirt and he wondered absently if Autobot blood was poisonous to humans. The smell made him think of juicy fruit gum. "I need a moment for the lines to seal themselves or my hydraulics will fail."
The sounds from outside were muffled by the concrete walls but Epps could feel the ground shake beneath them. He rested his cheek against the cool concrete and just tried to keep breathing, only opened his eyes when SunnyD spoke again.
"You're probably going to die," SunnyD said dispassionately. One of his optics was cracked, Epps saw, but it still glowed so maybe he could still see? Maybe it was like looking through broken glasses. Dimly, Epps thought to worry it might mess up big yellow's perceptions.
Oh, yeah. Going to die. Right. "Think so? Yeah, probably. You, too."
"I should think so."
"You guys all talk like you have a dictionary crammed up your ass, you know that?"
"I don't have an ass, but since we're both fucking well about to die, I guess I could try harder for you."
"Better."
SunnyD moved suddenly, his mangled arm rising again and his sword unsheathing in a brilliant flare of light. "There."
"Go get 'em," Epps whispered. Black spots were starting to waver in front of his eyes and just before he closed the and sank into the painless oblivion of unconsciousness, he heard SunnyD, his voice icy and resolute.
"Oh, I will."
~~*~~
They weren't going to make it back in time.
Even as he increased his speed, all of them traveling at a pace that no human vehicle could hope to achieve, Optimus knew it. Long, long years of war had taught him many lessons; battle was short and brutal amongst their kind, over in bare minutes with nothing left to do but retrieve the dead. It wasn't this that drove him to push for ever increasing speeds. Something was wrong. He could feel it in his spark.
Around him, his comrades were silent, engines straining as they surged past their human comrades. Already, they could detect the acrid tang of burning concrete and metals. An attack had been expected and they had left their best soldiers there in expectation. Their best soldiers and also their youngest, Jolt was the only one with them of a comparable age.
It was easy to remember that with Bumblebee. For all his strength and dependability, Bumblebee's inner sweetness kept him young in their view. They tended to forget with Sideswipe and Sunstreaker. Both of them aged from being on the frontlines of a war that had raged for most of their lives. Sunstreaker in particular made it easy to forget how very young he was.
Lennox made brief contact with him, ::I can't raise anyone, Optimus, on any line. If they don't get contact in ten, they'll send out the Air Force anyway but-::
::But it may well be over by then:: Optimus replied.
::That, and they aren't gonna know what to shoot at:: Lennox said, reluctantly. Meaning his troops might well be killed by the very humans they strove to protect.
::Understood:: Optimus said and cut the line. Grimly, he pushed even faster, his engine taking on a high whine that would surely earn him Ratchet's wrath later. But that was for another time. For now, he and the others drove as fast as they could, and their only comfort was a quick ping from Ratchet letting them know Blaster was stable and he was on his way.
::Keep back until we give you the all clear:: Optimus sent, ignoring the colorful burst of swearing that followed. ::The humans may not be able to identify us from the Decepticons.::
::So I'm supposed to keep back while my patients bleed out:: Ratchet said scathingly.
::Do not defy me on this. I am ordering you to keep back:: Sharply. He did trust Ratchet to obey orders, but with injured mechs involved…
::Yes, sir:: There was no room through his battle protocols for a reaction to Ratchet's furious resentment and Optimus shuffled it aside to be dealt with later even as he sent a broad connection to them all to link to Prowl for battle tactics.
The stink of battle was stronger, still too far away to see anything, Optimus could detect burning, thick blackness of smoke, and spilled energon. His tires hummed on the asphalt, as fast as he could possibly travel on this planet and it was not going to be fast enough. The battle would be decided, one way or another, before they could ever join it. Optimus could feel it.
TBC
Read Next Chapter
Author: Keelywolfe
Fandom: Transformers: Bayverse
Rating: R
Series: Human series
Summary: Chapter 47 of the Human Series.
~~*~~
The first time Epps found out that the Autobots were building their own base was when he was called into a classified meeting with some of the most powerful men in the States. Just him, no enormous briefing, no pressure of his direct commanding officers or subordinates. Only him and the big guys, asking him if he was willing to take on the assignment of protecting not his country but his very planet from a hostile alien invasion. And that in doing so, he'd be working alongside a group of alien friendlies.
That's what they had asked him, like it was just a simple yes or no question. To Epps, it had been. He'd never even hesitated. Never backed out of a dangerous mission before and he wasn't about to now.
Didn't regret it one fucking bit, not even now as he sat in a jeep, speeding towards the two Autobots standing near the base's entrance. Every soldier still on base was right behind him, all of them on the move the second radio contact went down and if anyone knew what the fuck was going on, it'd be two mechs ahead of them.
Time training with the 'bots had taught Epps a few things and it wasn't hard to recognize a mech with his battle protocols running. Even a civilian would know to be wary when they saw a twenty-foot robot carrying around a couple of ten-foot glowing swords, never mind two of them.
If those two were running off battle protocols, though, Epps knew a couple extra details. One, their perceptions would be on a razor-thin trigger, everything shut down but combat code. Just a little, he could envy a species that could literally turn off their fear, but never mind that now. The other detail he knew was the one concerning him now. If they were prepped to go, then something was coming and it was moving fast.
The driver braked a cautious distance back. Epps barely waited for him to stop before he hopped out, shouting up to the yellow and red mechs towering over him. "We lost contact with the guard station. They're coming, aren't they."
The way the yellow one startled, he hadn't even noticed the humans coming towards him and it made a shiver of apprehension dance up Epps spine. What could they be focused on so intently that the humans didn't even register as a threat?
Big yellow gave him a look that pretty clearly wondered what the fuck was going on. He looked at Sideswipe and Epps knew pissed off when he heard it. "You didn't tell me there were still humans here!"
Sideswipe only grinned back, "I didn't think about it. I'm not used to organics fighting with us." He saluted Epps jauntily with one sword. "Good to see you, Epps. Lennox left you in charge? I thought you were in communications."
"Still am. So communicate with me, what we looking at here?" Lennox and his team were probably fighting their own battles right now, Epps knew, and there was fuck all he could do about that. His orders were to defend their base and its occupants and the soldiers behind him were prepping to do just that. Be easier to do if they had any idea of what they were facing with communications and radar down, and the only mechs around who would know right now were these two.
Sideswipe he knew, was a stand-up guy. Didn't mind getting his hands dirty and a couple times, he'd stopped by the rec center in his Holo and played a few rounds of Call of Duty on the setup the mechs had made for everyone.
He knew the yellow guy was something to him, like a brother. Twins in their own way. Ratchet had tried to explain it to him once but Epps had figured out a long time ago that the best way to handle Ratchet was nodding every once in a while and eventually he'd get tired of talking and kick you out.
Yellow guy, it was Sunsomething, Sunny, and Epps mentally dubbed him SunnyD.
To say that the look SunnyD gave them was dismissive would be an insult to the word, "You humans should get out of here while you have a chance."
Yeah, that was probably why he didn't know SunnyD that well. "Our orders are to stay and defend."
"Defend what?" SunnyD sneered, gesturing at the buildings around them. "This slagheap would probably be improved by destroying it." A thunderous sound rolled over them, mechs and humans alike falling silent as they looked towards it. There was nothing visible through the darkness, not to the humans anyway. It didn't stop Epps from knowing it was coming; he could feel it, the anticipation hanging in the air like the heaviness of coming rain.
"Not long now," Sideswipe murmured, his focus on the darkened horizon. He didn't even seem to notice the byplay between the solders and his companion. Battle protocols, Epps reminded himself. Razor-sharp focus.
"You and your men need to get out, now," SunnyD said. His pissed off seemed to have been replaced with urgency, battle mask snapping down into place.
Epps shook his head. "Sorry, man, I don't take orders from you."
That didn't seem to be the reply that SunnyD was looking for. "Get out of here, or I'll kill you myself."
Behind him, Epps felt his team move restlessly. Every one of them had a heavily modified M4A1 Carbine and a healthy selection of incendiary projectiles deemed safe enough for humans to use. Ironhide had assisted them in redesigning their weapons against Ratchet's vehement protests and Epps had been one of the few humans privy to that particular argument.
Didn't matter, they were all armed now with the very best weapons they could produce for killing the shit out of mechs, just like the one who was currently glowering at them and Epps hastily raised a hand, holding his team back. Didn't need any damned fighting with the good guys, even if this guy was a dick.
Epps propped his own rifle on his hip and looked up into glowing blue optics. "If we're all gonna die anyway, I'd rather do it fighting some fucking 'Cons."
SunnyD glared at him and then suddenly, he laughed, a wild, electric sound that made a cold shiver trail down Epps's spine. Fuck, this guy was as scary as most Decepticons. "Die here, then. And stay out of my way."
Adrenaline was already thumping through Epps as he turned back to his team. Good men, strong, impassive faces staring back at him as they waited for orders. "Hear that?" he shouted, "We're all gonna die today! We ready for it?"
"Yes, sir!" A shouted chorus of mingled voices and weapons being locked and loaded.
"Then let's do it right!" He turned back to SunnyD, "You tell us what to do and we're on it."
To his credit, the 'Bot didn't hesitant. "It's a combiner team. A group of five or more mechs connected to form a larger one."
"Don't that sound like fun," drawled Martinez, currently second-in-command. He had one of the 'bot's modified scanners that Ratchet had given them. The medic might have refused to help with weapons but he seemed all right about making tools. Doc walked a fine line, Epps figured, but it wasn't his problem to deal with. Didn't look like the scanner was helping very much anyway; whatever they'd used to take down communications and radar seemed to work on the Autobot's equipment, too.
"There's only one way to fight a combiner team. From a distance," Sunstreaker, curtly, his optics still on the horizon. Nothing was visible to the humans but his optics flickered, watching. Scanning, probably. "If you're close enough to hit them, you're already dead so you might as well do what you can. Target the joints and force them to separate, it's the only way to take them down."
Epps laughed and was pleased it didn't sound a bit hysterical, "All right, let's take down fucking Voltron!"
A brief, sharp chorus of. "Yes, sir!" behind him and rifles being hefted, all of them taking what cover they could as they waited. They were as ready as they could be, a small group of humans and two mechs.
SunnyD was literally vibrating, waiting, his twin swaying next to him. His optics never left the horizon and now Epps could really feel it. The rhythmic, thudding vibration of something fucking enormous taking steps, coming closer, like a fucking outtake of Jurassic Park. Seemed like it was taking fucking forever.
The 'bots seemed to think so, too, both of them were moving as restlessly as any of the humans. Autobot expressions were sometimes disturbingly human and Epps recognized that look. He'd done three tours in the Middle East with his team, yeah, he'd seen that look plenty. Couple of times in his own mirror. SunnyD was eager to get this on, and he was probably running a few sparkplugs short right now.
And why the fuck wouldn't he be. Three tours didn't seem like shit when you stacked it against what the 'Bots had been going through for a few thousand years.
This was his team now and when your team was charged with saving the world, you didn't ask any fucking question. You stepped up and you took care of business.
~~*~~
Until this moment, Sam had never realized how much the Autobots modified themselves so they would be able to disguise themselves as human vehicles. Bumblebee had kick-ass specs, no questioning that, but to anyone giving him a cursory look, he was just a Camaro. One with a few specialized upgrades, but still. Just a car.
Riding in him now, crammed in the backseat with Mikaela as his parents took the dubious comfort of the front seats, there was no denying that Bumblebee wasn't 'just' anything.
They were all strapped in tight with seatbelts of the like Sam had never even imagined. Understandable, though. He had no idea how fast they were going but it was damned fast, he could feel it. Outside the windows, away from the city, it was pitch-black, and there was another bit of strangeness. They'd left the roads a while back and a Camaro wasn't exactly designed for off-roading. It didn't feel like they were riding on anything less than the smoothest blacktop though, and the low hum of Bumblebee's engine was barely audible. All the interior lights were off, the tiniest of indicators gone and the darkness was oppressive, pushing in on them.
Mikaela shifted a little, leaning against him and Sam automatically wrapped an arm around her. None of the humans said a word; even his mom was quiet although Bumblebee hadn't asked for silence. It felt like they were all holding their breath, waiting to see if they'd gotten away clean.
It was Bumblebee who finally broke the silence, his voice low through the radio speakers. Sam's mom muffled a short cry of surprise as Bumblebee said, quietly. "Listen to me carefully, all of you."
Sam nodded, knowing from long experience that Bee could see him. He heard his parents shifting, wondered what they were doing. If his mom was clutching Dad about how like Mikaela was clutching him.
Bumblebee continued, softly, "When I stop, I want all of you to get out. Go left, do you understand? There's an outcropping of rock there, it'll give you some protection. To your left, towards the driver's side. Do you understand?"
Silence, and Bee repeated it, patiently, "Tell me if you understand."
A soft murmur of agreement from around the interior.
"Good. Get ready now."
They slowed so abruptly that Sam's stomach lurched. He bit back the nausea, moving the second the seatbelts whipped back and the doors flung open. The four of them scrambled free and he heard Bee transform, felt the whisk of air as he moved and they'd barely stumbled to the rocky overhand when he heard the scream of metal against metal.
"Oh god," Mikaela whimpered and Sam would have been happy to cry with her, fumbling to touch them all, confirming with his hands what he couldn't see. They'd all made it clear, they were all here.
"Are you both all right?" Dad shouted over the almost unbearably loud sound of mechanized battle. He shoved them harder against the rock, Mikaela and Sam and his mom all crammed tight together. Covering them all with his own body, Sam realized, tears pricking his eyes.
A sudden wash of painful heat over them made answering impossible. One of them had used a plasma cannon, no telling who. There was no way to even know who, or what, Bumblebee was fighting. The darkness was as much their enemy as the damned Decepticons right now and Sam made a distant, fervent wish that he had a set of those night vision goggles the army guys used. When they got out of this, he was getting a set and to hell with any regulation. When they got out of this and they were going to. They were.
Abruptly, the night fell silent again, only an unfamiliar gurgling sound that was slowly ebbing. Sam pushed hard on his dad's shoulder, trying to move him enough to see and after a moment, he did, let Sam look out and see a sparking, mangled wreck barely twenty feet away. Whatever it was, its coloring was dark, not yellow, and relief made Sam sag a little, his knees weakening.
Heavy footsteps and Sam struggled free of their human knot, barely hearing his mom's hissed protest as he scrambled forward. He knew who it was, he could feel it…
"Are you all right?" Bumblebee asked, softly, smooth metal stroked Sam's cheek. A large finger, he realized, leaning into the gentle touch.
"I think so. I think we're all okay," Sam glanced back, stupidly realizing he couldn’t see anyone. He hadn't felt anything wet or bleeding when they'd been crammed together though.
A human hand touched his shoulder, Mikaela, and she murmured, "Bee, you're hurt."
He was, Sam realized, drawing in a sharp breath. The sparking was barely visible but squinting he could see one of Bee's arm's was damaged. Nowhere near the damage he had sustained at Mission City but Sam's heart still twisted to see it.
"I know. I can't transform but we certainly can't stay here. We'll have to see what we can do about it later. All of you, come on." Bumblebee held out his good hand and Sam didn't even hesitate, scrambled into his palm, Mikaela right behind him. His parents took a little longer, crawling awkwardly up and if a Camaro was a tight fit for four humans, the hand of a twenty-foot robot wasn't much of an improvement.
Once they were all situated, large metal fingers curving carefully around them in a sort of protective cage, Bee started moving again in a loping run. It was a much louder way to travel but Sam didn't think they had much room to complain.
His dad was jostling against him uncomfortably, shifting in to say to Sam, loudly, "Don't worry, Bee will be all right. He's a tough kid."
Sam only nodded, leaning against his dad. All in all, he thought his parents were handling their first near-death experience pretty well. He could only hope it would stay near-death, for all of them.
~~*~~
Sweat was stinging in Epps's eyes and he swiped it away impatiently, trying to see through the smoke and darkness enough to find something to fucking shoot.
Most of the lights had shattered under the first energy blast, throwing them all back before they'd even seen it and even now, sweating and screaming orders, Epps hadn't gotten a clear view of it.
He didn't think he wanted one. If they survived this, just what he had seen would probably haunt his fucking nightmares. Epps knew the mechs came big. He'd seen Megatron, before he'd become a twisted, hulking wreck. But this thing…even through the smoke and dust, through the special night vision goggles Ratchet had helped them design - what little he'd seen was like something that had crawled out of the deepest pits of Hell.
Weapon fire and screams were all drowned out in its deafening roar and a rain of debris and glass fell over them. Another building destroyed and Epps just counted them lucky the big stuff had fallen the other way.
It was like his worst, twisted nightmare of that first attack in Qatar and they were probably as effective now as they'd been then. Pumping endless rounds into a monstrosity that they could barely see. Uselessly. SunnyD was right, they were all going to die
His goggles didn't allow for color, a blur flashing in front of him, and Epps recognized the outline of one of the twins sweeping past him, his energy sword a blinding flare of light. Epps flinched away, eyes watering, and looked back just in time to see the Autobot twin going in suicidally close, his weapons glowing hot.
His twin moved in unison with him, unspoken, almost more of a dance than battle tactics. It took Epps a moment to see it but once he did, he understood. Go for the joints and one of the 'bots was giving his brother some much needed leverage to launch himself into the air, his sword pathetically small against that horror but it still cut through the knee joint like going through hot butter.
That thing howled, a horrifying scream of agony as one leg collapsing beneath it but it had three others, it was still moving, fuck, fuck.
"Target the other leg," Epps screamed, his voice raw from shouting and smoke. It was their only chance, SunnyD had said, target the joints. "Get it down, get it down!"
Whether his men had heard him or they just got the idea when Epps did, he didn't know, but every human still standing poured on the heat. Their ammo had been modified alongside their weapons, and the monstrosity shrieked its horrific scream again, the most horrible sound Epps had ever heard was still music to his ears. They were actually taking it down, Epps thought, giddly with adrenaline and battle lust. They were doing it.
A voice cried out, he didn't know who, "Look out!" Too late, Epps's vision whited out and then the ground was hard against his back. Pain was distant, the world going gray around him and Epps could only grope feebly for his weapon as he waited to die.
~~*~~
The pain was a hell of a lot more immediate the next time he woke up. He was moving, Epps realized dimly, moving fast, and the sudden stop made him grunt in pain, turning to a howl when he was deposited roughly on the ground.
"Here, get in here," a rough voice, SunnyD, Epps thought vaguely.
"Where-" he tried, coughed, and tasted blood.
"Witwicky's quarters," he said shortly. "I don’t have access to the inner sanctum but you can get in the front hallway. It's safer there."
"Safer," Epps mumbled. No place was gonna be safe.
"You're leaking fluids," Sunstreaker's vocalizer sounded raspy and Epps wondered if the smoke hurt them, too.
"I noticed," Epps slurred out. Not much he could do about it. His leg was alarmingly numb, the lack of pain disturbing. Epps cried out as he was jostled and only realized SunnyD had nimbly plucked off his belt when he felt it tighten around his thigh in a makeshift tourniquet. Movement again, and Epps was sitting in on the landing of a short flight of stairs, SunnyD leaning what little he could in through the door.
"Stay here," SunnyD repeated. "this building is the most reinforced in the City."
"You're hurt," Epps said blearily, only just seeing the damage on the larger mech.
"I noticed." Fluid dripped from his mangled arm, oily dark with a glowing tinge of pink mixed in, pattering down on the ground. A few droplets stained the front of Epps's t-shirt and he wondered absently if Autobot blood was poisonous to humans. The smell made him think of juicy fruit gum. "I need a moment for the lines to seal themselves or my hydraulics will fail."
The sounds from outside were muffled by the concrete walls but Epps could feel the ground shake beneath them. He rested his cheek against the cool concrete and just tried to keep breathing, only opened his eyes when SunnyD spoke again.
"You're probably going to die," SunnyD said dispassionately. One of his optics was cracked, Epps saw, but it still glowed so maybe he could still see? Maybe it was like looking through broken glasses. Dimly, Epps thought to worry it might mess up big yellow's perceptions.
Oh, yeah. Going to die. Right. "Think so? Yeah, probably. You, too."
"I should think so."
"You guys all talk like you have a dictionary crammed up your ass, you know that?"
"I don't have an ass, but since we're both fucking well about to die, I guess I could try harder for you."
"Better."
SunnyD moved suddenly, his mangled arm rising again and his sword unsheathing in a brilliant flare of light. "There."
"Go get 'em," Epps whispered. Black spots were starting to waver in front of his eyes and just before he closed the and sank into the painless oblivion of unconsciousness, he heard SunnyD, his voice icy and resolute.
"Oh, I will."
~~*~~
They weren't going to make it back in time.
Even as he increased his speed, all of them traveling at a pace that no human vehicle could hope to achieve, Optimus knew it. Long, long years of war had taught him many lessons; battle was short and brutal amongst their kind, over in bare minutes with nothing left to do but retrieve the dead. It wasn't this that drove him to push for ever increasing speeds. Something was wrong. He could feel it in his spark.
Around him, his comrades were silent, engines straining as they surged past their human comrades. Already, they could detect the acrid tang of burning concrete and metals. An attack had been expected and they had left their best soldiers there in expectation. Their best soldiers and also their youngest, Jolt was the only one with them of a comparable age.
It was easy to remember that with Bumblebee. For all his strength and dependability, Bumblebee's inner sweetness kept him young in their view. They tended to forget with Sideswipe and Sunstreaker. Both of them aged from being on the frontlines of a war that had raged for most of their lives. Sunstreaker in particular made it easy to forget how very young he was.
Lennox made brief contact with him, ::I can't raise anyone, Optimus, on any line. If they don't get contact in ten, they'll send out the Air Force anyway but-::
::But it may well be over by then:: Optimus replied.
::That, and they aren't gonna know what to shoot at:: Lennox said, reluctantly. Meaning his troops might well be killed by the very humans they strove to protect.
::Understood:: Optimus said and cut the line. Grimly, he pushed even faster, his engine taking on a high whine that would surely earn him Ratchet's wrath later. But that was for another time. For now, he and the others drove as fast as they could, and their only comfort was a quick ping from Ratchet letting them know Blaster was stable and he was on his way.
::Keep back until we give you the all clear:: Optimus sent, ignoring the colorful burst of swearing that followed. ::The humans may not be able to identify us from the Decepticons.::
::So I'm supposed to keep back while my patients bleed out:: Ratchet said scathingly.
::Do not defy me on this. I am ordering you to keep back:: Sharply. He did trust Ratchet to obey orders, but with injured mechs involved…
::Yes, sir:: There was no room through his battle protocols for a reaction to Ratchet's furious resentment and Optimus shuffled it aside to be dealt with later even as he sent a broad connection to them all to link to Prowl for battle tactics.
The stink of battle was stronger, still too far away to see anything, Optimus could detect burning, thick blackness of smoke, and spilled energon. His tires hummed on the asphalt, as fast as he could possibly travel on this planet and it was not going to be fast enough. The battle would be decided, one way or another, before they could ever join it. Optimus could feel it.
TBC
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